We only seek a better life

I constantly read the Village News to inform my self about issues in the community. In your latest issue, I was deeply worried when I saw a picture of a man holding a sign that read “Hiring Illegal Aliens is Illegal and Un-American.” I am strongly opposed to the immigrant sweeps that are taking place in Fallbrook. I oppose these sweeps because at one point I was an illegal immigrant myself. I am originally from Guerro, Mexico, and have lived in the United States for 14 years. I have attempted and continue to attempt to fulfill the “American Dream” with the support of my family. I am currently attending the University of San Diego and my parents own a business. We were able to achieve all this not because we are “ignorant invaders” but because we are determined and we are given a chance. The people, or “illegal immigrants,” as others call them, who risk their own lives and those of their families, do not come to America seeking to ruin it; they come to prosper and, if given the opportunity, will succeed.

People complain about the overcrowding in schools and other issues that are supposedly brought about by “illegal immigrants,” yet when it comes to receiving the profits based on the arduous and often inhumane working conditions of the “illegal immigrants,” everybody is quick to cash in.

If California was an independent nation, it would be the fifth richest nation. This wealth is based on the vast amount of agriculture that is produced each year. At the backbone of this agriculture production, these “illegal immigrants” are the ones who sustain this economy. Caucasians can rarely been seen on the large farms, and when they are seen they are supervisors. Never have I seen one doing the planting, harvesting or picking of these money-making crops. Some may say that illegal immigrants are coming to invade, but that is not true; with our sweat and labor we are also contributing to the economy. Our yearning to prosper makes us take many jobs and many Caucasians take advantage of this.

Unfair pay, unsanitary conditions and mistreatment are the constant occurrences on the job for an “illegal immigrant.” How can somebody be punished for trying to triumph? By continuing these raids, it instills fear in those who are trying to sustain themselves and their families. What happened to the American Dream? Unless you are of Native American heritage, weren’t you at one point an immigrant? We are not vegetables, fruits or merchandise that you can bag, tag and deport — we are human beings who only seek a better lifestyle in a land that is filled with injustice, racism and discrimination.